Iran International
Tehran’s fraught relationship with the UN nuclear watchdog is set to enter a more confrontational phase as the IAEA Board of Governors meets in Vienna this week to vote on a Western-backed resolution censuring Iran for non-cooperation.
The looming vote has triggered a flurry of warnings and condemnations in Tehran, revealing both anxiety over renewed pressure and the contradictions at the heart of Iran’s dealings with the International Atomic Energy Agency and its director, Rafael Grossi.
Since the 12-day war with Israel, Iranian officials have accused Grossi of siding with the West, politicizing the agency’s mission and even spying for Israel and the United States.
Yet they also acknowledge that Grossi remains a crucial mediator whose cooperation—and potential endorsement—is essential if Tehran is to prove its nuclear program is peaceful and ease the standoff.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon but Israel and Western countries doubt its intentions.
‘Mossad spy’
Tensions typically sharpen when Grossi adopts a firmer tone or when Tehran sees his actions as politically driven.
The tone changed dramatically after Israeli and US strikes on Iranian facilities in June 2025, when Tehran faulted Grossi for refusing to condemn the attacks and accused him of helping pave the way through “biased” reporting.
Iran’s parliament followed by approving legislation that restricts cooperation with the IAEA unless individually cleared by the government, while hardline outlets such as Kayhan—closely tied to the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—branded Grossi a “Mossad spy.”
Nevertheless, cooperation continued, culminating in a September meeting in Cairo where Grossi and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signed an agreement whose details remain undisclosed and contested.
Grossi, for his part, has sought to keep diplomacy alive while castigating Tehran for “totally unsatisfactory” cooperation—yet stopping short of referring Iran to the UN Security Council.
He has stressed repeatedly that “war does not justify an end to cooperation,” framing that stance as central to his mandate.
‘Crossroads’
With the United States and the E3 preparing a resolution for the 19–21 November meeting in Vienna, Tehran appears intent on lowering the temperature.
Iranian officials have denounced the draft text as “political and destructive,” warning it would complicate relations with the West and obstruct negotiations.
Iran’s UN envoy Reza Najafi urged IAEA members to reject the resolution, while spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said Tehran might reassess its cooperation, potentially reducing collaboration and increasing enrichment levels.
Despite the heated rhetoric, Tehran seems acutely aware that it still needs Grossi’s public confirmation that its program is exclusively peaceful.
Araghchi and his deputies told a conference that Iran is not currently enriching uranium. But the moderate daily Arman Melli quoted him on Tuesday as saying that enrichment will continue.
Arman Melli added that “Iran’s nuclear dossier has entered a new phase, and new international reactions could alter the course of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.”
In his opening statement to the IAEA Board of Governors, UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said the agency urgently needs access to Iran’s inventories of low-enriched and high-enriched uranium, which have not been checked for five months.
Grossi said he is in regular contact with Iranian officials following a September agreement in Cairo that set inspection procedures after the attacks, but added that “further constructive engagement is needed” to implement the deal in full.
The remarks come as the United States and three European allies have submitted a draft resolution demanding that Iran promptly restore cooperation and provide comprehensive nuclear-material accountancy.
Diplomats told Reuters on Tuesday that the measure is expected to pass at the board meeting later this week.
The text calls on Iran to grant the agency “all access it requires” and to fully implement the Additional Protocol without delay.
Tehran has warned that such a resolution could undermine the September understanding reached with Grossi.
Earlier this week, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the Western push would compromise the agreement, while Iranian officials have linked stalled access to the reimposition of UN sanctions in late September under the snapback mechanism.
Iran has yet to allow inspectors to visit the facilities damaged during Israeli and US strikes in June, according to a confidential IAEA report seen by Reuters earlier this month.
The report said the agency has not been able to verify Iran’s enriched-uranium stockpile since the attacks, when inspectors last confirmed about 440 kg of uranium enriched to 60% purity.
Access granted to unaffected sites
Grossi told the board on Wednesday that establishing the status of Iran’s enriched material “needs to be addressed urgently,” warning that extended gaps in verification increase risks to the safeguards system.
“It is critical the agency be able to verify this material as soon as possible,” he said.
The IAEA chief added that Iran has facilitated access with advanced notice to “almost all unaffected facilities,” calling this step welcome but insufficient.
The renewed push for cooperation follows a turbulent year in which Israeli and US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war in June left parts of the program damaged.
Iranian officials say the strikes undermined the credibility of the IAEA and have accused the agency of failing to condemn the attacks.
The IAEA board will continue discussions this week as Western governments seek to pressure Tehran back into full compliance, while Iran argues that sanctions and security concerns must also be addressed.
Kamal Kharrazi said Tehran’s conditions for returning to the table remain unchanged since US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June.
Any renewed dialogue must be conducted on equal footing and mutual respect, he said, adding that Washington must show it is ready “to engage with us on the conditions that we put.”
An agenda would need to be prepared in advance to avoid ambiguity, Kharrazi continued, arguing that President Donald Trump “does not believe in diplomatic engagement but rather prefers to use force to achieve his objectives,” and insisted that enrichment would continue because Iran requires nuclear fuel for power and medical use.
Tehran’s expanding ballistic missile program, he added, will not be included in talks. “It is only the nuclear issue we will discuss with the United States,” he said.
Talks derailed by June strikes
The United States and Iran had been engaged in indirect discussions earlier this year when Israel launched a surprise attack in mid-June, prompting US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Kharrazi said the extent of the damage has still not been fully assessed and cautioned that further confrontation remained possible. “Everything is possible. But we are ready for that,” he said.
Iranian officials told CNN this week that despite “serious damage to infrastructure, machineries and buildings,” the program remains “intact,” even though enrichment is not currently taking place due to the attacks.
During the summer contacts, Washington insisted Tehran halt all enrichment, while Iran maintained it would continue low-purity domestic production.
Kharrazi said limits on enrichment levels, rather than the activity itself, could form the basis of future negotiations. He added that a structured arrangement could allow Iran to continue enrichment while providing assurances it is not pursuing weapons.
Possible pathway via an enrichment consortium
According to a CNN report in June, the US had proposed joining a multinational consortium to oversee low-level enrichment inside Iran. Kharrazi said he believed an understanding could be reached on such a framework as long as Iran retains control over its fuel cycle.
“If there would be genuine negotiations,” he said, “there are ways and means how to ensure that Iran can continue its enrichment and at the same time assure the others that it's not going to look for nuclear weapons.”
He also urged Trump to shift tone: “Start with a positive approach with Iran. If it will be positive, certainly it will be reciprocated. But they have to refrain from any force against Iran.”
Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Iran “very badly” wants a deal and that talks were already underway.
Standing beside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he said: “I am totally open to it, and we're talking to them, and we start a process.”
He said his administration could have reached an agreement before the June war, “but that didn't work out,” while the crown prince said Riyadh would “do our best to help” Washington and Tehran reach a settlement.
The previously undisclosed visit, held between November 7 and 11, 2024, involved physicists and engineers travelling on consecutively numbered diplomatic passports and meeting Russian institutes connected to military research, the report said, citing documents it obtained and corroborated through corporate filings, sanctions records, leaked travel data and other correspondence.
According to the report, the exchanges form part of a broader pattern of contact between Russian military-linked research centers and Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a Defense Ministry body long sanctioned by Washington for alleged work on nuclear weapons design.
Jim Lamson, a senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and a former CIA analyst, told the FT the evidence indicated that Iran’s defense-linked scientists were “seeking laser technology and expertise that could help them validate a nuclear weapon design without conducting a nuclear explosive test.”
Tehran maintains its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, and Moscow has publicly opposed the Islamic Republic obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The delegation met Laser Systems, a Russian company under US sanctions that develops equipment for both civilian and classified military use.
The November 2024 mission followed an earlier set of meetings revealed in August, which showed that a Vienna-linked procurement network involving DamavandTec – and using diplomatic passports issued by Iran’s foreign ministry – had arranged introductions between Iranian nuclear scientists and Russian companies with defense and intelligence ties.
Academic and institutional records reviewed by the FT showed the men who travelled were not DamavandTec employees but researchers from Shahid Beheshti University, Islamic Azad University of Kashan and Malek Ashtar University of Technology, an institution under US and EU sanctions for its role in nuclear-related activity.
The FT said the visit had been framed in invitations as an opportunity for technological collaboration, though the scope of any technology transfer between the two sides remains unclear.
The findings come against the backdrop of years of Western allegations that SPND operates covert procurement networks in Europe and Asia to source dual-use equipment.
An investigation by Iran International in 2025 documented a Vienna-based hub tied to SPND-linked front firms purchasing neutronics-related and other sensitive components with potential applications in nuclear weapons design.
Washington has sanctioned more than 30 SPND scientists and multiple affiliated entities, saying the organization oversees “dual-use research and development activities applicable to nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons delivery systems.”
In 2024, Iran’s parliament formally recognized SPND under Iranian law, placed it under the authority of the Supreme Leader and exempted its budget from parliamentary oversight.
Women and men who defy the government—by appearing unveiled or sharing critical content—have in recent weeks discovered their SIM cards abruptly disabled, locking them out of banking, public services and even judicial notices.
The tactic signals a shift toward low-visibility punishment that avoids the spectacle and political cost of arrests.
The shutdowns come without warning.
Donya Rad, a script supervisor who became an early symbol of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement after posting an unveiled photo in a Tehran teahouse in 2022, said this month that her line had been cut under what officials described as “special measures.”
Rad, who was arrested shortly after that photo went viral, drew fresh attention last month after sharing an image of herself in shorts on a Tehran street.
Shortly afterward, her SIM was blocked. And it remains so weeks later.
“Because I can’t make online purchases—no SIM card, no verification codes—I think I should go on a diet,” she posted on X on Sunday.
“I’ve already had to ask (my sister) Dina to buy my theater tickets, top up my internet, book hotels. I’m going to bed so I don’t end up texting her to order food for me too,” she joked.
‘Communication is my right’
Rad’s post triggered a wave of responses from others who had not previously publicized their own blocking—and the cascade of problems that followed.
Parisa Salehi, a journalist and former political prisoner, said her SIM had been cut months earlier, also without notice. She wrote on X that she refuses to petition prosecutors for its reinstatement.
“Communication is my right,” she said. “My life is already disrupted. I’ve been expelled from university, lost my job, served prison, and now can’t even access the court-notification system.”
Others described being shut out of essential services like banking that require mobile-number verification.
Women’s-rights advocates say the practice is designed to punish and pressure women into conforming to state-mandated dress codes.
New tools of control
The tactic has expanded well beyond hijab enforcement.
After the 12-day war between Israel and Iran earlier this year, security agencies disabled the SIM cards of dozens of citizens in an effort to control reporting and mute criticism.
Several said they were instructed to delete posts, sign pledges not to criticize the government and publish supportive content before their numbers would be restored.
Former journalist turned podcaster Elaheh Khosravi said on X that she will soon lose access to her account and urged followers to keep listening to her podcast. Rad herself promoted Khosravi’s latest episode.
Saeed Sozangar, a network-security instructor and active X user, condemned the tactic as a perversion of Iran’s digital infrastructure.
“E-government has become a tool of control in the hands of a reckless state,” he wrote. “Practices that are illegal even under this system are being carried out casually, with zero accountability.”
No basis in law
Legal experts have also criticized the practice.
In an interview with the moderate daily Shargh, attorney Shahla Orooji said that only a court can impose punishment, and only if it is explicitly provided for in law.
“This measure is neither recognized as a primary punishment nor a supplementary one,” she said. “It is a deprivation of rights and unlawful.”
Another lawyer, Mohammad Oliaei-Fard, said the cutoffs violate the Islamic Republic’s own constitutional protections.
“If a court sought to take this step, due process would be required — including a fair trial and a legally defined punishment,” he said.
Instead, he argued, authorities are imposing “silent, invisible penalties” that evade official scrutiny.